


Let's Play a Game: Full Play- Sburb

by CheatsatUNO



Series: Let's Play! [2]
Category: Homestuck, Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Minor Violence, RTStuck, Temporary Character Death, god tier ya know, they come back
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-02
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-01-10 23:51:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheatsatUNO/pseuds/CheatsatUNO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being transported to their respective lands, the boys proceed to play the game but problems make themselves known soon. It's not easy to focus on playing a game when players go missing, mortality gets the better of you, and when one of your friends jumps off the deep end. It also doesn't help that the game keeps ripping victory from you just as it comes into sight. But there has to be a way to win... right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Game Start

**Author's Note:**

> bouncing off the fucking walls here. so excited for this to get started. don't expect the second chapter though for a bit though. sorry. I'll work on when I can but this is going to be thorough so a lot of planning has to take place. I promise it'll all be worth it though! I my add more tags later as things pop up too

Michael raises his head groggily, not having expected the sudden feeling of nausea brought on by the spiraling gate he and his friends had gone through only moments before. A cursory glance around proves him to be alone and somewhere that was not... well not where he’d been before. It was already a shock for Michael and the others when the game had sent them all into the Medium and now Michael was trying to just stop being surprised by this fucking game. Somehow his glasses had remained situated on his face and he feels around his head to make sure the headphones he’d alchemized were still intact. They were and the man let out a breath of relief.

Once entering the Medium, Geoff’s Grifsprite, the only prototyped sprite that could speak in an intelligible language thanks to the team’s lack of knowledge on how important the sprites would be, had told them it would be smart to start alchemizing items other than the bare minimum weapons they’d created from toys found throughout the building. The green and black headphones had been amongst the first batch of alchemized items. Forged from mixing the computers and recording headphones together gave everyone a functional way to stay in contact and operate that was pretty easy to keep track of and carry around. The game also apparently installed a chat client onto everyone’s computers during its instillation which Michael now puts to use to get in touch with the others. He taps a button on the right side and a screen projects itself on his glasses. ‘ _I’ll have to fix that._ ’ Michael thinks with a growl at his inability to see through his glasses with the Pesterchum app now up.

\-- mlpMichael [MM] began pestering brownMan [BM] \--

MM: hey brownman do you have any idea where the fuck you are?  
BM: huh? No, not really  
BM: you?  
MM: not a clue  
MM: just a bunch of shiny grey stone everywhere.  
BM: that’s weird, I’m in a maze  
BM: that’s on fire  
BM: it’s really annoying to breathe in here, it’s all smoky  
MM: well fuck. Do you think these are the lands Grifsprite was talking about?  
BM: probably, Snorlaxsprite still isn’t saying shit and the noises he’s making are getting on my nerves  
BM: I’ve told him to fuck off like four times but he won’t listen  
MM: yeah  
MM: Kazooiesprite isn’t any help  
MM: she wasn’t ever really any help in the games either but there was hope right?

 

For a second, the view of the screen fizzles out and all Michael can see is static before the chat pops back up. ‘ _Well that was weird._ ’ He thinks before reading Ray’s new message.

 

BM: holy shit!  
BM: did you see that where you are?   
MM: see what?   
BM: that big flash across the sky  
BM: please tell me you saw it   
MM: nope  
MM: my screen did bail for a second though   
BM: we-- th-t’s ---rd  
BM: it w-- ther- a-d then it w---‘t   
MM: what?   
BM: hm?   
MM: your text is starting to blip out   
BM: wh--? I c--‘t see hal- of what y--‘r- say---   
MM: ray?

\-- brownMan [BM] is no longer connected! --

Confused and more than his fair share of worried, Michael did something he thought he’d never do: start a memo. While in the Medium and building the office up to reach the incredibly high gate, Gavin had made countless memos for the group that were really just annoyances that they stopped putting up with after the first one. But still Gavin made them and somehow Michael and the others had gotten sucked into them even with everything that was happening around them. Despite the different type of imps that dropped different types a grist—there were six variations so everyone assumed that one type was specific to each player—and despite the ominous feeling that surrounded the Medium the group had wasted time with the memos. So Geoff had made a consecutive decision and banned Gavin from making memos. He’d technically banned memos in general but it was really directed at Gavin. No one saw the use for memos when they could just group up and talk face to face. Of course they hadn’t originally known they’d be separated. Since they’d all started in the same room, things were both difficult and easier. They hadn’t needed nearly as many starting items sans a few exceptions like the Cruxtruder and a few extra Alchemiters because of this. But the space was cramped and with six players worth of imps it wasn’t easy to get around. Though the imps had provided for some major level grinding on everyone’s echeladders everyone had learned to stay away from the Rust imps because they seemed the most powerful and took several of them to kill. They were obviously Ray’s seeing as how they seemed to seek him out purposefully and he was the only one who could kill them with little to no help. Michael had found it extremely amusing and agitating that even the game knew that Ray was the better gamer.

  
CURRENT mlpMichael [CMM] RIGHT NOW opened a memo on board WTF IS GOING ON.

CMM: okay so I’m at a loss for what’s happening right now  
CMM: anyone wanna add anything to it?

  
CURRENT gavinoFree [CFG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CGF: what are you talkin- about  
CGF: is som---ing wr-ng boi  
CMM: yes because I can barely understand what you’re saying right now  
CMM: its glitching out

  
CURRENT dGeoff [CDG] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CDG: what --- you g-y- yap-ing ab--t now?

  
CURRENT bmVagabond [CBV] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CBV: Am I the only one wh- can’- read wh-- is b---g s-id?   
CMM: welcome to the club ryan   
CGF: wh-t  
CGF: what a-- you s--ing

CURRENT jackP [CJP] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CJP: Mich-el, what’s g-in- -n?

  
CURRENT brownMan [CBM] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CBM: qui-k -ues--on guys  
CBM: did an-one el-- see th- fla-h acro-s the sky ear-ier?   
CDG: what a-out the s-y?   
CGF: sky  
CGF: th- sky on m- land cracked o-en fo- a few se-onds a --- minu-es ago  
CGF: why  
CGF: is th-t not normal   
CBV: no  
CBV: i- isn’-

 

A sudden shake of the ground beneath his feet spurs Michael from his growing unease at the current conversation with the rest of his team. The violent movement of the planet sends him to the ground in a heap of heated curses. It was quickly learned that the ground on this planet was uncomfortably hard.

“Fuckin’ shit!” Comes the bruised exclamation as Michael rubs his back somewhat soothingly, tending to it after its rough contact with the adamantine stone. Groaning at the dull throb, Michael looks to sky just in time to see what Ray and Gavin must have seen. A quick flash appears in the pale grey sky. It looks like a crack or a scratch on the atmosphere, like an open wound but small enough to just slap a Band-Aid over it—a very large cosmic Band-Aid but still. The only abnormality, sans the obvious, was that in the opening the scratch caused was basically static. Black and white pixels with multicolored dots scattered throughout it and moving erratically in an image that was usually accompanied by white noise on a broken television. It’s only there for a second more before it disappears but it leaves Michael stranded, feeling more of that sticky unease settling in the back of his mind, and staring up at the spot that had previous seemed broken. Ryan was right. That couldn’t be good.

Quickly opening up the memo again leaves Michael staring through his glasses, unhindered with the exception of the bright letters blinking in and out of existence. His alchemized headphones/computer set up flashed the words once more on his glasses before the slow whirring sound of a computer, that had previously meant the computer part of the item was working, stopped all together.

Connection Failed

  
CURRENT mlpMichael [CMM] RIGHT NOW is no longer connected!

CGF: mich-el  
CGF: mikey wikey  
CGF: h-y guys what ha---ned to m-cha-l   
CJP: i’m not s---  
CJP: Michael w-uld-‘t just le-ve    
CDG: this -robabl- i-n’t good   
CBM: no sh--   
CGF: what --e we gon-a do?!  
CGF: W-AT IF HES HU-T!   
CBM: gav, c-l- do--

  
CURRENT brownMan [CBM] RIGHT NOW is no longer connected!

CDG: ray?

  
CURRENT jackP [CJP] RIGHT NOW is no longer connected!

CURRENT gavinoFree [CGF] RIGHT NOW is no longer connected!

CURRENT dGeoff [CDG] RIGHT NOW is no longer connected!

CBV: …  
CBV: …  
CBV: Guys?  
CBV: …   


  
CURRENT bmVagabond [CBV] RIGHT NOW ceased responding to memo


	2. Chapter 2

**= > Check up on everyone**

 

Ryan spares another glance around at his surroundings before letting out a sigh. He had no idea what was going on with the others. Michael had been first to be cut out and then the rest of the team had followed one by one until only Ryan was left. It was unnerving and he couldn't stop wondering what was wrong. A third glance is directed to the Pesterchum app once it is opened—the chat client being projected onto the air before him on an intangible screen. Still nothing. It had been roughly and hour since it happened and no one has been able to make contact since.

A distant _moo_ breaks Ryan from his somber reverie and back onto the subject of where he is. The Land of Cows and Castles, LOCAC, is what his sprite had told him before he too had begun to be interrupted by static and had disappeared in a bright flash. The garbled advice and warnings it’d given were lost in the crackling sound that had come along with the glitching. Ryan had no idea what it’d been trying to tell him and decided to forgo the headache and stop trying. LOCAC was beautiful, like a picture on a postcard or on a travel website. Green grass everywhere and a bright blue sky with fat, lazy clouds perfectly shaped in indiscernible pictures and it all looked as if it had been photoshopped to all be more eye-catching and aesthetically appealing that it really should be. The breeze was a constant and always just as soft and cool as the previous gust. 

Now that he’d been wondering around for the better part of an hour, Ryan slowly bends down to sit in a particularly inviting looking patch of grass. It is just as soft as it looks and tickles slightly when he runs his fingers through the blades. He spared another glance around, cows that look disturbingly like the Minecraft mooshroms were grazing nearby. _‘Huh,’_ Ryan almost laughed. _‘What would the guys think if they found out my consorts were cows of all things?’_

Off into the distance he seems a dark structure looming eerily. Ryan gets to his feet and heads towards the object. Grifsprite had told them that the point of the lands was to complete quests and to inevitably fight the land’s Denizen which would awaken as they progressed through the game. All Ryan had to do was find out what his quests were and complete them, right? This was, after all—despite all the impossibilities of it—just a game.

“Better start somewhere.” He says to no in particular and continues his slow advance to the distant structure. If it weren't for his alchemized headset, there would be no way of telling how long it took to get to there. The sun stayed fixed to the midpoint in the sky, a perpetual noon. Standing in front of him is a large, stone fortress. The place is in ruins and is overgrown by weeds and vines and ivy on almost every surface. Ryan realizes that he must be facing the back or side of the castle because the only entrance is an obvious hole in the cobblestone wall. A quick debate ends with Ryan hopping through the gaping blemish and into the castle. All together it is about the size of a regular, two-story suburban style house with a stone floor and no furniture to speak of. In fact, the entire building was empty save for strange symbols carved into the walls.

Exploring the first floor reveals a decaying set of stairs half hidden behind the moss-covered, crumbling remains of what used to be an archway. Ryan places a cautious foot on the first few steps to test the strength of the soft stone and finds them to still be sturdy. So far this trip has been nothing but wasteful, offering nothing but an empty stomach and a tired Ryan. The upstairs is just as barren as the downstairs and with nothing to show for his wasted efforts. He goes to leave the small room he’d chosen to investigate but on the way out and back into hall, something catches Ryan’s eyes and draws attention back to the strange inscriptions on the walls. 

“I must be seeing things…” Ryan shakes his head and rubs his eyes for good measure and looks back at the wall. Still, he sees the odd swirling and zig-zag ciphers but he could have sworn that out of the corner of his eyes, in passing, he’d seen a word. In English. Or at least that’s how it had felt. He’d understood it all the same. The word “Hero” had stood out amongst the symbols on the wall but it was gone now. In its place was what looked like an upside-down question mark with a lowercase _t_ running through it. Next to it is a large set of barely curved crescents lined up to form the outline of a circle.

“Void,” Ryan doesn’t know how he knows or when he decided to say the word aloud, but he did and he knows that’s what the symbol means. As he stares at the Void symbol, a few of the surrounding characters come into focus and more words enter his head and exit through his lips. “The Hero of Void will return to us the Night.”

 

\--

 

“Well this is just great,” Ray mumbles to himself, shutting off his headset and breaking off into a coughing mess upon inhaling a direct plume of smoke from a burning bush at his feet. Apparently his land, the Land of Blaze and Roses, had never ending fires that burned eternal rose bushes that for some reason never burned. But oh, did they create a lot of smoke. The air was polluted with smog and no sky was present under the deep haze. He’d need to find a way to breath properly later on or he’d end up hacking up a lung before this stupid game was over.

He’d been wondering through the rose maze since he’d lost connection and been kicked from the memo. Snorlaxsprite floated a few feet behind him but not for long. Since the first time he’d lost connection with Michael the large sprite had been a lot less helpful than usual. It had grown quiet and barely uttered any of its noises and had even started to fade in and out.

Ray didn’t know where he was going; he was honestly just trying to get out of the burning maze though that seemed almost impossible. The hedges stopped high above his head and even then the billows of smoke were making it hard to see very far away. He’d almost given up hope of getting out when out of the smog a large yellow stone sun appeared. It was situated on an overly large set of stone doors that seemed to be stained red, like desert rock. The doors themselves belonged to an overgrown temple with vines of roses crawling up the sides. The door itself was infested with the red flora but the sight made a smile appear on Ray’s face nonetheless. All he had to do was break the vines across the doors and get inside and out of all this smoke! Maybe there were even a few clues inside the temple to help him. A small _blip_ noise rang out behind him and he looks back to see an absence of Snorlaxsprite. 

“So long buddy,” Ray gave the halfhearted farewell and broke out into a run only to stumble at the sound of a different _blip_ , the signature sound of a notification on Pesterchum.

\--??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? opened a memo on board **WAIT RAY!** \--

  
??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? invited  CURRENT brownMan [CBM] to memo

?GF: RAY STOP!  
?GF: PLEASE RAY  
?GF: DON’T GO IN THERE

  
CURRENT brownMan [CBM] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CBM: Gav? what are you talking about?  
CBM: how do you know about the temple?  
CBM: better yet, how come I can read everything you’re saying?  
?GF: ill explain just dont go in there okay  
?GF: promise me  
CBM: alright Gavin  
CBM: now tell me or I’ll go inside right now  
?GF: RAY!  
CBM: look man, I just want some answers so start talking  
CBM: and what’s with the ? in front of your name  
?GF: dont worry about that  
?GF: just know that if you go in there now youll die  
?GF: …  
CBM: ?  
?GF: oh nothing  
?GF: michael just keeps bugging me to say hi to you  
CBM: wait, Michael?  
CBM: you’re talking to him?  
?GF: yes hes right next to me  
CBM: how?!  
?GF: well obviously not now  
?GF: or well its now for me but not for you  
?GF: for you right now i think our boi is still on locad  
CBM: locad?  
?GF: land of caves and diamond  
?GF: michaels land  
CBM: Gavin, you aren’t making any sense  
CBM: how do you know that and what did you mean by all that cryptic ‘not for you but for me’ bullshit?  
?GF: cant tell you that right now xray but dont worry about it  
?GF: just dont go in that temple okay  
CBM: start talking and I won’t  
?GF: you arent making this very easy xray  
CBM: sorry Vav, it’s just business   
?GF: i cant ray  
?GF: id like to but you never believe me this early on and i cant fuck this one up  
?GF: your going to have to trust me  
?GF: sorry  
?GF: I have to go now ray michael keeps bitching about the frogs all over the gaff  
?GF: and geoff wont like how longs its taking to get the ones we need  
CBM: what? Gavin I dont understand what you’re saying  
CBM: is this some stupid joke?  
?GF: just stay away from the temple  
CBM: Gavin  
?GF: later ray   
CBM: Gavin!

  
??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? ceased responding to memo

CBM: dammit Vav!

  
CURRENT brownMan [CBM] RIGHT NOW ceased responding to memo

\--

 

“Stupid-” Another hard swing with his sword results in the congratulatory expulsion of grist. “Fucking-” Taking a step back, Michael stares at the black figures surrounding him and lunges forward to bring his sword into another foe. “IMPS!” More grist shimmers on the dark ground as another imp is slain by Michael. Michael had been jumped just as he was about to sit down for a rest after walking for a good three hours. He was panting and out of breath and regretting not exercising more. Boy was he out of shape. Michael could only imagine how Jack was doing or God forbid… Ray. 

It takes another ten minutes to kill the horde of imps that had surrounded Michael but he finally got to take his well-earned break once it’d been done and collect his grist. Michael’s Bread Cutter—the sword he’d alchemized between a foam minecraft sword and a bread knife from the company kitchen—clattered to the ground as he dropped it beside him and the rock he was now sitting on, getting as comfortable as possible on the hard surface of the stone. Luckily, everyone had been smart enough to raid the office kitchen for food, stashing it in their respective sylladexes before they’d left the Medium and now Michael downed a Redbull as he caught his breath. 

Unfortunately, his down time is interrupted by an irritating squawking that can be coming from nothing other than his practically useless sprite. Kazooiesprite seems to be very angry with the bright red bats that are flapping at her from a cave not too far away. Michael can hear Kazooiesprite give them some snarky insult and it only succeeds in making him laugh, just like it always did in the game. The bats flap indignantly but flutter off except for one.

“Hey, Kazooiesprite, stop harassing the locals.” Michael calls once he’s decided to get up. Kazooiesprite doesn’t turn around and instead floats swiftly into the cave. “Hey!” Suddenly irritated, Michael steps forward until the bright red bat that had decided to stay lands gently in front of him. It stares up at him with wide, amber eyes.

“E-excuse me?” He stammers, unsure of how to address the creature—what was it Grifsprite had called them? Consorts?—and unsure if it was a girl or a boy. How did you check with bats anyway?

“Hero of Rage?” The bat spoke with a feminine(?) voice and Michael has to stop because he hadn’t expected a response. He eyes her because he is just as confused as the bat was. She seemed hopeful but of what?

“Come again?”

“Your sprite said you were the Hero of Rage that is meant to help us. Is this true?” 

“Uh… maybe?” Michael shrugs, he might not be lying. The title seemed… almost fitting. A Hero of Rage. He did run a series called Rage Quit so why the hell not? Maybe this consort would be able to help him figure out how to complete his quests or get to the others. His answer, although hesitant, was enough for the small bat. Wide amber eyes shone happily and she clapped her wings together in a gleeful dance. It was like something from a cartoon but it was oddly endearing.

“Hero! No one thought you would come! They won’t believe me when I tell them!” She squealed and then broke off into excited, high-pitched squeaks that sounded very bat-like. It was kind of annoying but Michael tried to ignore it.

“Where’d Kazooiesprite go?” Michael looks up from the bat to stare into the cave that the other consorts and Kazooiesprite had disappeared into. The bat stops and flutters up to look at Michael in the eye.

“She said she would not see you again. That she was broken and asked us to help. The others refused to help her because they didn’t believe her. A lot of us have given up hope that the Hero will come. But I was curious. I promised I’d help.” She smiles and it’s actually really adorable. _‘Who knew bats could be so cute?’_ Michael thinks.

“Do you have a name then, if you’re going to help me?” Michael crosses his arms, upset that Kazooiesprite just bailed on him like that—‘What did “broken” mean?’—and tired of referring to the consort with only a guessed pronoun. The bat looked up at him and shook her head. Michael sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

“Ruby. That okay with you?” Ruby nodded her head wildly, seeming very happy with her new name. She reminded him of Gavin the way she seemed so excited over trivial things. Michael really hoped that’s where the similarities between the two ended. “Alright, what should I do now?” Michael asked after a moment of comfortable silence.

“I’ll take you to the Scriptures. They’re all over the place but I know about one in that cave right there!” Ruby flew off in the opposite direction of the cave that the others had all gone into.

“Here goes nothing.” Michael muttered to himself and followed Ruby away from the cave, a small shimmer of light glowing from within the depths.

 

\--

 

“God, I fucking hate spiders.” Geoff curses as he swings the butt of his BR55 Battle Rifle—a Halo gun toy replica turned functional via Alchemiter—at another dense collection of spider web. His land, the Land of Lasers and Frogs, was covered in dense jungle. It was also overrun with thick strands of web that completely blocked paths and enveloped trees and plants. Every now and then Geoff would see an oddly colored frog or two entrapped in the webs and would feel pity for it when whatever spider span it returned to find its newest catch. Another oddity found on the planet were the beams of thin light that could be seen shooting up into the sky, Geoff guessed they were the lasers for which part of his land was named. Although they were scattered at varied intervals throughout the jungle they appeared to be heavily concentrated around a massive volcano. The spider webs also seemed to get worse the closer he got to the volcano so Geoff continued to the path, ridding it of the troublesome webs, keeping the volcano in sight. Having played games for so long, the more difficult things got the more he was sure he was going the right way. The volcano had to have something to do with the quests Grifsprite had mentioned so many times before.

A hand finds its way to the white pendant marked with a bright orange spirograph hanging from around his neck. It was what Grifsprite had done as a final way to help. The bright orange sprite had told him how something was wrong with the session and how the sprites were disappearing. Sprites were important parts of the game, they were guides of sorts that had infinite knowledge of the game and without them Geoff and the others were pretty much fucked. 

So before Grifsprite eventually disappeared, he’d decided to turn himself into a small data disc that could be later translated onto a computer and read. It was odd saying goodbye to his own voice but now Geoff had the disc and all the information Grifsprite had known—everything—with him and all he needed was a working computer. Something he didn't have. He also didn't have anyone who could figure out how to transfer the sprite’s data into a discernible language. He’d need to talk to Ryan or Jack when he could but he had no idea how long it would take for the connection on Pesterchum to reestablish itself. Or if it even would. 

A struggled croak directs Geoff’s attention to his left where a thin turquoise colored frog lay tangled in a mess of thick webbing. Its long legs struggled uselessly against its sticky prison as it released another pitiful noise.

“Come on, buddy.” Geoff rolled his eyes and cut away the webs and freed the tiny frog. It fell to the ground in a confused heap and gazed up at him with muddy brown eyes, not moving. The two stared at each other for a minute before Geoff gave a resigned sigh and picked the thing up to look at it closer. “I have a couple of friends like you, useless. I don’t know why I keep the little shits around but…” Another sigh and the man gently sets the frog snugly on his shoulder. “But I guess another useless mooch couldn't hurt.”

 

\--

 

_Tick_

Jack leans against a large ramp that is situated on an even larger, sideways facing gear. In fact, the entire land was covered in gears, some piled on top of each other and overlapping while others had immeasurable voids separating them from one another. Ramps and old (looking) crumbling structures were placed all over the place. There were walls obscuring certain view points and dangerously damaged and rusted parts of the gears that made up the habitable area of the planet.

_Tock_

Jack’s sides heaved and he spared a fervent look around, searching for any more imps that he might have over looked. A few of the creatures here and there were simple enough to take care of but when a dozen came out of nowhere it was pretty difficult to take care of them. Now the bearded man was hiding under the rickety structure and catching his breath. His glass pickax glistened with oil and a strange, glittering substance that he preferred not to think about too much.

_Tick_

Between the infernal _tick-tock_ ing that came from nowhere and the constant, fruitless checks of Pesterchum, Jack was frustrated and in no mood to deal with the annoying imps. He’d had enough of them running amok in the Medium. The hazy, dark sky reminded him of the Medium and therefore, the Roosterteeth office. A deep sigh resonates from his chest after finally catching his breath. Another quick scan of the land, which Jack somehow knew was called LOTAT (Land of Time and Trials) proved that he was alone again. Jack still wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad thing as he made his way out of hiding and continued on his aimless trek.

 

\--

 

“Sssss!” Gavin hissed back at the green creature. The large lizard flicked his tongue out and hissed. The lanky Brit lost himself to another fit of giggles as he accosted his consort with a hug. Ever since TheQueensprite had shimmered out with a polite wave and blur of static, the large lizard consorts—about two feet tall, upright, and suspiciously creeper-colored—had swarmed Gavin in what seemed to be an attempt at comfort. “I hope the others are having fun in their own lands.” Gavin murmured to himself.

When Gav had arrived on his land, the Land of Lava and Gold, he’d been a bit confused. The black, obsidian colored ground was hard in some places but in others was loose like sand but there was almost no noticable difference at first glance. Then Gavin had seen a bright light over a black hill and decided to find the source. The source, it turns out, was a burning river of lava about seven yards across and who knows how deep. Due to the overhang on which Gavin now stood, he had not seen the ruined gold tower. It was a large circular structure and it looked to have been great at one point in time but was now only a shadow of its former glory. It looked to only by the first floor but a spiral set of shimmering stairs tried stubbornly to climb higher from the golden wreckage. 

It was then that he noticed the river broke off and formed a mote around the broken tower and that an all too familiar hissing noise was steadily creeping up behind him. It was the same sound creepers made before exploding. Whipping around, Gavin almost broke his neck trying to see what was making the noise and had definitely _not_ screamed when he’d seen the creeper-colored lizards approaching. They stood about two maybe two-and-a-half feet tall on their back legs and were the type of lizards that had those fan-like collars around their neck that would spring up every now and then.

At first Gavin had tried exploring with his following posse of consorts and TheQueensprite, but it hadn’t gotten very far before imps had attacked. It was quickly learned that although the lizards seemed threatening at first, they didn’t do much once the imps had gotten over their initial fear and that pushing them into the lava didn’t work because all the grist and other goodies burned with them. Gavin had been running out of arrows and to equip with his Simple Bow and with the majority of the contents in his sylladex being crap, alchemizing new ones wasn’t a successful venture. His consorts had eventually gotten tired of watching him try in vain to find a suitable combination for weapons and offered him their tails. Apparently, the creatures held explosive properties, similar to creepers, but unlike their Minecraft counterpart, they didn’t explode willingly. 

After a half hour of experimental alchemizing and reassurance that their tails did in fact grow back, Gavin had a dozen explosive arrows and another dozen…“arrows” that somehow did their job. Since then, Gavin hadn’t seen an imp and TheQueensprite had left him with a parting wave and message that he hadn’t caught over the static encasing her ethereal form. Although her eyes cast an accusatory glare before she had fizzled out of existence, Gavin hadn’t paid much attention and let the lizards play with him. 

The telltale ring of Pesterchum disturbs Gavin’s playtime.

“Him again,” Gavin sighs, looking at the now open memo projected on the air in front of him. Gavin didn't believe a word this dumb idiot said but he’d answer his memos anyway, lonely and starved for conversation with an actual person… no matter how infuriating he was. Scanning the familiar dark green text of the obvious impostor, it’s all just him yelling at Gavin for playing when he should be exploring like he’d told him to do an hour ago when he was fucking around with his sylladex. Another deep sigh from Gavin causes the nearest and friendliest consort to nuzzle it’s scaling head into Gavin’s lap.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day…” 


	3. Chapter 3

**= > Jack: Answer Pesterchum**

“Hm?” An icon bubble pops up out of the corner of the alchemized set of glasses (Jack and Michael had created their modified spectacles together in the Medium) and Jack hesitates. Wasn’t the Pesterchum connection down? No one had been able to contact anyone since that first memo a few hours ago. Just to make sure, Jack attempted in vain to pester Geoff. No luck. So how was there an invite to a new memo?

\--??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? opened a memo on board GIFTS!\--

  
??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? invited CURRENT jackP [CJP] to memo

?GF: jack  
?GF: jaaaaaaaaaaack

  


  
CURRENT jackP [CJP] RIGHT NOW responded to memo

CJP: Gavin?  
CJP: I thought Pesterchum didn’t work  
?GF: it doesnt so dont try to talk to anyone else  
?GF: but that isnt important right now  
CJP: but Ga-  
?GF: 15nTG0ld  
CJP: and what is that supposed to be?  
?GF: oh bullocks  
?GF: you guys are always harder to talk to the further back i go  
?GF: its a captcha code  
?GF: put it on a blank card and youll get the object it represents  
?GF: we didnt do anything like that back in the medium but its really helpful  
?GF: especially in your immediate future  
CJP: Gavin what are you talking about?  
?GF: just use the bloody code im not in the mood  
CJP: whats wrong?  
?GF: nothing that concerns you at the moment  
?GF: actually it never really concerns you  
?GF: it involves me ray and michaels unconscious body so butt out  
CJP: wait what?  
?GF: listen jack as much as I want a distraction from this whole thing I cant take up too much time  
CJP: distraction? what thing?  
?GF: never mind just avoid the first transportalizer you see and use the second because geoff needs help and since ryan is a void player I cant intervene with his timeline so I cant stop what I told myself would end up happening and I dont even know when itll happen and michaels right there and I cant do it but I cant make ray do it either  
CJP: woah woah Gavin calm down  
CJP: Im not sure whats going on but Im pretty sure itll be okay  
CJP: Ryan will be okay and no matter whats happening with Michael as long as you and Ray are there with him hell be alright  
?GF: …  
?GF: thanks jack  
?GF: you should get on those things I told you  
?GF: its about time ray and i take care of michael  
CJP: you mean your terribly obscure “tips”?  
?GF: hehe yeah bye jack  
CJP: bye

  
??? gavinoFree [?GF] ??? ceased responding to memo

  
CURRENT jackP [CJP] RIGHT NOW ceased responding to memo

Well… that was weird. Why was Gavin’s name filled with question marks and why had he been so… vaguely helpful? And what was that bit about he and Ray “taking care of Michael” about? It’s a bit irritating to tell the truth and Jack clenches his fist as he decides whether or not to take Gavin’s shit advice. After a few deep sighs and empty resignation, the large man decides it’d be stupid to at least not give it a shot.

Unloading all the proper materials from his sylladex—an Alchemiter, a Totem Lathe, and a Punch Designix—and sets it up haphazardly around him. Punching out the given code on a fresh card and creating a corresponding carved Cruxite dowel. Taking the dowel from the machine, Jack turns to the Alchemiter… what was this going to be? Knowing Gavin it could be anything ranging from dangerous to stupid to both. 

“Here goes nothing.” Placing the dowel on its designated spot he presses a few buttons and watched as a bright light begins to create the object that the code dictates. While Jack and Ryan had been the best at successfully going through the tedious process of alchemizing objects in the Medium, Gavin had mastered fucking around with combining punched cards with the || and && functions until he’d created something great. It’s how Ryan acquired the strife specibus type Magickind and the special gloves that he wore to utilize the magic (this process may or may not have involved a magic kit that was going to be used for a future RT Recap and the Xbox Kinect functions). 

The light from the Alchemiter flares once more before disappearing and leaving behind a new item. ‘Oh wow,’ Jack thinks, jaw dropping in appreciation and thanks to the Lad. Laying on the platform is a large, golden pickax. One side curved down traditionally into a deadly point while the other arched upwards in a gentle and sharpened curve. Both tips were forked with the bottom point coming up shorter than the upper. Picking up the weapon, Jack found that the handle was perfectly welded and worn to his grip. It was incredible. 

One strange feature of Sburb was that players somehow knew the names of certain places or their own alchemized items despite the fact that they’d never seen them before. By holding the pickax, Jack could feel its strength and a name entered his mind. A boisterous laugh rang through the empty landscape as the humor in the item’s name did not escape him. The gift was rightfully named “All That Glitters”.

The pickax was a bit heavy so he took a couple practice swings and motions to get used to the weight and after about twenty minutes, the glittering weapon felt like an extension of himself. Shouldering the item, Jack returned to search for something that could give him any hints of his land quests. Walking so much was tiring but he was beginning to get used to it—the several breaks in between were a big help—and he distracted himself by whistling tuneless songs that somehow forged themselves into a Randy Newman song. Chuckling deeply, Jack began belting out the words to “It’s a Jungle Out There” in conjunction with a wide smile. This was apparently not a good idea as the noise had attracted two large enemies and several underlings. About half a dozen imps and the two ogres made a threatening semi-circle around Jack and began to creep closer.

“Shit… not fans I see. That’s fine. Opinions are always good.” Jack smiled nervously at the enemies before turning tail and running away. Even with the new pickax, the bearded man doubted he could take on that many enemies. The one good thing about the ogres was that they were slow; however, the imps were still speedy creatures. A few having caught up to Jack received the business-end of his new toy and exploded into a rainbow of grist and drops. Not even half of the goodies were collected before Jack took off again as his other pursuers came closer.

_Tick. Tock._

The pounding in Jack’s head and the rushing sound of blood racing through his veins brought attention back to the _tick-tocking_ that had never actually stopped but been moved to the back of him mind. It was now at the forefront and even seemed louder than before. Reaching the end of the current gear platform he was on, another gear promised him more, unexplored territory and presumed safety. The top of the gear ended just below his shoulders; Jack captchalogued his pickax before attempting to pull himself up onto the new platform.

_Tick_

“Fuck!” Jack cursed, still struggling to pull himself up as the ogres and imps steadily closed the gap.

_Tock_

Looking over the edge and onto the wide expanse of land the gear offered, Jack saw a platform similar to that on the Alchemiter. A Transportalizer! Hadn’t Gavin said something about one of those? Just needed to get to it and get the hell out of here, anywhere was better right now. Jack had almost managed to get his body back onto solid ground when a sudden sound rang through the still air. It was different from the _tick-tocking_ that constantly filled the silence, no, this was like a loud gong. At the sound of the gong, the gear Jack was currently hanging onto gave an abrupt jolt and began to turn. The initial movement had startled Jack and sent him the few feet back down to his original gear in a painful heap. The sudden pain in his back and vertigo made Jack close his eyes tightly, trying to rid himself of the sickening dizziness. A loud growl reminded him that him that he didn’t have time to rest because he was still in danger. 

Reluctantly getting to unsteady feet proved difficult and standing on the moving gear only added to that discomfort. Jack could no longer catch sight of the Transportalizer and was stranded once more in danger’s grasp. Or… not exactly. As the gear continued its revolution around an unknown axis, Jack saw another Transportalizer on a gear a few feet below his current perch. Downside was that another moving gear was closing up the gap and would soon obscure what could be Jack’s only hope of getting out of here alive. The sounds of rustic gears turning and throwing up a racket almost concealed the roar one of the ogres made as it was within spitting distance of Jack, the imps nowhere in sight for the time. Without hesitation, Jack took off running towards his only way out. He was slower than he wanted, out of breath and still hurting from the rough landing. The closer he got, the closer he ogres did until he could feel their hot breath on the back of his neck and the smaller the gap got between the gears. ‘Here goes nothing.’ Jack panted mentally and braced himself for his next action. Muscles coiling, Jack jumped and dove for the gap as it closed and as the ogres reached out for him.

Jack had never been claustrophobic but his chest tightened uncomfortably as he was enclosed by dark metal and almost lost in their grip. Barely making it through, the large man landed with a harsh escape of breath and rolled painfully onto the platform before it flashed and took him from his land. Jack gasped as his sight returned and the dry air of LOTAT was replaced by a moist heat.

“Fuck…” Jack groaned, sitting up and surveying the area. A dense jungle littered with thick bands and large spider webs surrounded the platform and Jack. The Randy Newman song from earlier jumped back into Jack’s head but he decided against singing it this time. A small _ribbit_ came from behind Jack and the sound of rustling leaves and underbrush made a shock of fear spark up Jack’s back. He obviously wasn’t on his own planet anymore and he had no idea what kind of monsters inhabited this land. Warily watching the moving leaves, he equipped himself with All That Glitters, waiting.

“Jack?”

 

**= > Jack: Be Michael**

“Here.” The small red bat flapped her wings quickly before landing on a large stone just outside a cave. Ruby had told Michael of sacred runes carved into the walls of caves. These caves were scattered across the land and were apparently all the same, their appearance marking them as off limits to consorts. ‘The caves hold the scriptures for the eyes of the Hero of Rage only. Only he would be able to read them.’ That is what Ruby had told him on the long walk to their current destination. This had caused Michael a bit of distress. What if he wasn’t the Hero Ruby was talking about? If he couldn’t read the scriptures, Ruby would know he’d lied when he told her he was the Hero of Rage. Would she continue to help him? He had no idea what to do in this game—no idea about his quests or his denizen—and he had the sinking feeling the only reason he wasn’t habitually checking Pesterchum anymore was because he had someone to take away the lonely feeling of isolation. Being alone from choice was completely different from his current situation. 

Ahead of Michael, a large grey mound rose from the relatively level ground with a large, jagged opening slopping downward as the cave went deep into the earth. From the outside, the slate grey stone that made up most of the land was lit by the sky until it began to darken considerably in the shadow of the cave. Walking forward and peering around the mouth of the cave and into its depths, the inside was almost black with darkness. Michael turned to Ruby with a questioning expression.

“How am I supposed to see the walls? It’s pitch black down there.” Michael bites out with more venom than he meant. Ruby startled and fidgeted around.

“I could guide you.” It was then that Michael remembered that she was a bat and mostly blind anyway. She found her way with echolocation and therefore, had no problem with the lack of light in the cave.

“Uh, don’t worry about it Ruby, I think I might have something to light the way.” Speaking softly in apology for speaking harshly before, Michael rummaged around in his Sylladex before finding coming out victorious his cell phone. Perfectly un-alchemized and the same as it had been before the game. Enabling his flashlight app, he flashed it in the cave and carved a narrow path through the darkness. “There we go. Come on, Ruby.”

“But I’m not allowed in the caves. They are for the Hero of Rage alone.” Ruby looks up at Michael with wide eyes and though she seemed nervous to even think about entering the forbidden cave, she tried sneaking a glance into the darkness and her tiny body seemed to vibrate with wonder and adventure. 

“Well as the Hero of Rage, I give my guide exclusive permission to enter. Come on, I’m getting bored up here.” And without a second thought, the auburn haired man started into the cave. A few feet into the darkness, the silence was broken by Michael falling flat on his face after tripping on uneven ground. “Well there goes my cool-guy exit.” He mumbled, irate and hurting.

“I guess it would be pretty irresponsible to let you go alone.” Ruby giggled, flapping excitedly, staying afloat a foot above Michael’s head. He sent her a quick smile before continuing, being twice as cautious of the dips and breaks in the stone floor. The phone’s light scoured the jagged walls of the cave, illuminating nothing but rock. “They should be here.” Ruby muttered. She flitted ahead, squeaking at the walls in search of symbols that weren’t there. Michael was about to tell her to calm down but his light informed him of a sharp turn not too far forward. It was the slight difference around this blind corner that made his words die. A pale, barely there light showed a small contrast from the unseen tunnel to the rest of the cave. Warily continuing down the sloping path, Michael turned the corner and gasped. Embedded within the dark grey walls were the visible portions of pale blue gems that shone brightly, giving off a glow that brightened the cave walls. Stalactites and stalagmites shimmered from the iridescent light from the octahedral gems. Large, bulging gems were scattered among smaller jewels and were all surrounded by twinkling specks of blue-white; like stars. The clusters of diamond were large but spaced randomly with wide expanses of stone between. They seemed like glimmering galaxies in the darkness.

“Wow,” Michael breathed. The sound of flapping wings accompanied his soft exhales and Ruby hummed in the affirmative. He wondered how much she could see of the beautiful sight with her eyes and how much she had to depend of sound to give her a mediocre description. Ruby squeaked, getting a feel for their immediate position and then squealed, this time from excitement.

“Michael! The areas between the gems!” Turning his attention away from his companion, the gamer noticed the walls between the clusters of diamond were all smooth sans small engravings. He all but ran to the nearest wall, smiling brightly, putting his phone away since the strange light emanated by the diamonds light up the symbols and cave. It didn’t take long for the smile to drop of his face. ‘I don’t know what the fuck this thing says!’ Michael cursed inwardly. Swooping curves and zig-zag lines formed individual characters in some unknown language. ‘Shit. Shit. Shit.’

“What does it say?”

“Uh…” Michael looked at the symbols nervously, searching for some sense of understanding until his eyes zeroed in on a picture, almost like a frowning face with a beard and thick eyebrows tilted inwards. It looked very angry but it was the only thing that seemed to make sense.

“Michael?”

“Rage.”

“Huh?”

“Typheus.”

“Michael?” Michael groaned, holding a hand to his head trying to combat the sudden headache that came with the sudden words. He didn’t remember wanting to say them, only hearing them leave his mouth. “Are you okay?” Ruby flew over; landing deftly on his shoulder like a parrot would a pirate. She looked genuinely concerned, the sentiment made the Hero smile. He could call himself that now; he had read the words only the Hero of Rage could read. Although he couldn’t make sense of any symbol besides the two he had spoken aloud, he felt the need to stare at the symbols until he understood. But the sudden throbbing in his temples gave a very convincing argument to do otherwise.

“I’m fi-” He was rudely interrupted by a loud rumbling. The ground and walls around the two suddenly began to shake violently. “What the fuck?” Looking around, a stalagmite crumbled and rocks scattered aimlessly across the ground. A nearby stalactite fell from where it clung to the roof of the cave and shattered, small pieces of diamond skittering across the floor in a shimmering dance.

“Oh no.” Ruby moaned.

“Huh?”

“A shake. The land, it’s shaking.” Ruby, for the first time since she shyly introduced herself, she sounded small and not exuberantly upbeat.

“Shit. Come on, we need to get out of here.” Michael urged, the small carmine bat nodded and clung tightly to Michael’s shoulder, her small claws digging into the alchemized material of his Banjo hoodie. Michael winced at the pain but set off at an easy jog towards the exit. Bringing out his phone at the corner where the diamond’s light did not reach and the sight he was met with filled him with instant fear. The jagged walls of this part of the cave shuddered violently as large pieces of the ceiling dropped and scattered. The whole cave was shaking and it was about a ten minute walk from this point to the outside. It would probably take half that if he ran as fast as he could but Michael was admittedly not that athletic. More rocks, ranging from pebbles to the size of a large fist, rained down from the trembling ground above and Michael took off. There really wasn’t much time for hesitation. Ruby’s claws tightened their grip as she tried to stay as close to the Hero of Rage as possible, Michael could feel pinpricks of warm blood and cursed. 

That would definitely stain.

His worry over the state of his hoodie was put to a stop when Michael had an ugly stumble over the remains of a stalagmite. A few larger stones dropped down near him as the gamer fell to the ground. His hands went out instinctually as he fell and pain erupted from his palms as tiny shards of rock imbedded themselves within the soft flesh.

“Fuck!” Ruby startled at the curse and sudden jolt and released her death grip on her companion’s shoulder, beating her wings erratically in the panic. She squeaked, high pitched and broken with fear, feeling the sound come back at her from more places than she would like. Everything was shaking and the cave was falling apart under the strain. “Michael?” She whimpered.

“’M fine Ruby.” Michael spit out and got to his feet. He took off again, ignoring the pain in his left leg. The yellow cargo shorts of his outfit did not offer any protection in the fall and resulted in a bloody knee.  
The mouth of the cave was in view. It sent a shock of relief through the duo as they increased their speed, Michael’s shoes beating loudly on the vibrating terrain, trying to make it easier for Ruby to follow and stay close. The closer they got the outside, the warmer Michael felt, he hadn’t noticed how the dark depths had sucked the heat out of his body but now that it was being returned, he shivered at the sudden change. “Almost there.” He encouraged, trying to keep Ruby close. If she could just stay near, she’d be okay. Ruby had been very quiet save for the constant screeching that told her that the world was falling down around her too quickly. If she could just stay close. Unfortunately, fate seemed to like to take a shit on Michael’s day.

A high scream broke through the area behind Michael and he stopped. He was almost there, so close. Only a few yards and he’d be safe from the danger of falling rocks. Behind him, one of Ruby’s wings was being held down by a stone the size of a volleyball. She whined in pain as the jagged edges dug into the thin skin of her wing. “Ruby!” Michael called, racing back to help the small creature. He crouched beside her as the cave in front of him began to collapse and the shaking increased. The cave was falling in on itself.

“Michael, please.” Ruby’s large eyes begged him but he didn’t know whether it was for him to help her or to run. Michael chose the former and worked to pick the heavy stone up and toss it away. With Ruby free, he noticed the odd angle of her wing. Shit. She shivered as Michael picked her up and flung her forward. Surprised and still shaken up, it took her a second to flap her wings and fly towards the exit. She made it outside—her injured wing moving awkwardly—with Michael a few yards behind, following more slowly as crouching had aggravated the pain in his leg and doubled it. “Michael!” Ruby called out to him, fluttering nervously just outside the entrance. ‘Faster,’ Michael chanted to himself, urging his body to move more. ‘I have to make it.’ 

“Michael!” Ruby’s voice rose above his labored breaths as he fell hard on the solid ground. He’d tripped over the same uneven patch he had when he’d entered the cave. Falling on the ground before had proved painful as the ground was very solid and hard, almost like diamond itself, but those few times before couldn’t compare to the agony screaming from his chin and running up and down his leg. His ankle felt warm and wet and he honestly didn’t want to see just was going on down there if the swirling colors behind his clenched eyelids were anything go by. Everything hurt and it only got worse as fate took another shit on him in the form of a flurry stones in varying sizes falling on the small of his back and setting fire to his legs. He knew Ruby was calling out to him but he couldn’t hear over the rush of blood, adrenaline, and pain rushing through his head. It all hurt and the only relief he got was when a large stone hit the back of his head and finally put him out of his misery.

 

**= > Michael: Wake up**

E̸̬̮̗r̨r̡͔̬̤̰o͚̥̹͢r̻̟̩

**= > Be Michael**

You c̚͘͠a̡̡̡ͥͪ̍͌̓ͧ͌̚̚n̵̍ͬ̔̉̀̂͑͐͑̀ń͑ͨ̅oͦ̇̃͆̿͗͘t̉͒̅̇͂̚ be M̛͠ì́͜ch̴͢ael. Please try͈̗̠ ̬̫̰̜͎͕͖a̘͉͇̞͕͇̕n̥̣̻o̙͎̹͟t̲̪̲̙͓͔͞her Play̙̬͚̟͐ͪ͌ͫ̋ͅe̯͖͔̘̎̐̋̄̍ͅr̝̥̭̦̺͓̈́.

**= > Be Ryan**

The crumbling room was quiet save for the rhythmic tapping of work. Ryan sat on the cool, uncomfortable stone floor, back resting against a wall made of the same stone. The air around Ryan was filled with off-color tablets, floating lazily until they were swiped to another area to make room for another in the man’s immediate sight. It was like something from an Iron Man movie and Ryan silently thanked Ray and Gavin for alchemizing them for the group. 

The screens around Ryan were all filled with words; broken phrases and their interpretations, paragraphs of information, stanzas of song and poetry with some hidden meaning that had yet to reveal itself, and pages and pages of stories and history. It had all been copied down from the walls of similar stone fortresses that Ryan had wondered across in the land. Each document contained only a fraction of what the symbols on the walls held but they were the only things the player could translate. The past two structures he had explored had rooms full of symbols, all carved onto the cracked stone of the rooms and it all seemed to be songs and poems in tribute to the “Hero of Void” that would “return the night that would be stolen and do away with the false light of day”. It was all very interesting but none of it had to do with the quests he knew he had to complete. The only way to wake his denizen and complete the single-player portion of the game was to make progress with his land quests but with no information on what needed to be fixed or changed—albeit Ryan could guess it had something to do with “returning the night” but how the hell did someone actually manage that? Nyx, Ryan’s denizen, was a beast of the night and in Greek myth was the personification of nighttime. If the land quest was to bring back nighttime, then as Ryan succeeded, Nyx would awaken and the night would hasten its return. It was both simple and difficult. All he needed was a few hints or clues on how to start his quest. So far, no luck.

Ryan finished typing up translations for all the understandable text that was visible in the room. More poems and senseless stories, just like the previous places. Some fortresses seemed to be dedicated to purely recreational and tribunal texts while the information Ryan needed was spread in fortresses far and few in between. ‘I might as well just pack up and start looking again,’ Ryan thought, downtrodden. Closing up the open document by swiping with the top left corner, they compressed and flashed out of existence. Walking towards the room’s high arching exit, a stone skitters across the floor, having been kicked carelessly by Ryan. On the rough cobblestone piece, an unfamiliar symbols rests, shallowly carved. A hollow circle with a smaller circle in its center, a line swooping up to meet the bottom of the outer circle and zig-zagging downward to resemble a quarter rest in sheet music.

Crouching down to retrieve the piece, Ryan examines it closely. After much practice, Ryan figured that the symbols were written specifically for the player because he could understand them after a moment of thought or sometimes instantly, but no matter how much research he did, the language did not exist outside of his land. Sudden realization takes hold of the man, eyes widening as Ryan understands the symbol’s meaning. 

Quest

Now infused with a new hope at finding information about his land quest, the man fervently surveys the room for any place where the stone could have fallen from. Of course there were missing sections of the stone and symbols gone missing or worn away by time. A quick scan of the nearest wall with the symbols engraved gives Ryan four possible places where the rock could have dislodged itself from the rest of the stone. Unfortunately none of the surrounding text had anything to with his land quest. In fact, none of the context clues of the surrounding text even hinted at the term ‘quest’ being used.

Ever the thorough worker, Ryan tried seemingly in vain to match up the shape of the fallen stone to the crevices in the wall. It fit perfectly into one but it wasn’t so simple. It fit in backwards so that the plain side of the stone faced Ryan and the symbol disappeared into the-

Into the opposite room! Groaning at his stupidity, Ryan left the room and entered the adjacent room, quickly scanning the walls and immediately finding the quest symbol. It was found in several places but the short burst of excitement and hope was overtaken by disappointment once more. It had nothing to do with the land quests Ryan needed to complete but instead something called a “Quest Bed”.  
It takes a while for Ryan to fully translate a single sentence but that sentence alone makes him curious.

“To fall upon the [Quest] Bed of Void in eternal sleep will grant the Hero with conditional immortality in the meeting of a just or heroic end.” Ryan read the sentence aloud, interested in whatever a Bed of Void was and about the supposed “conditional immortality”. Further reading told Ryan about the status of conditional immortality and the abilities that were tied to it. It was called God Tier, where a player was basically turned into a god of sorts with powers relating to both their class and aspect. Ryan’s aspect was obviously Void—as that was the Quest bed that was settled in his land—but his class would be revealed to him upon ascension. 

With blank documents surrounding the space around the man, Ryan wrote all he could translate, a smile growing with all he learned. Once the room had been fully translated to the best of his ability and the new documents saved, Ryan began to pack away his belongings and left the room and the fortress. The blue sky sang to him and the eerie perfection of the eternal day brightened his spirits as he headed east. 

“Time to go God Tier.” He sang to himself. He had the alleged location of the bed memorized; now all he had to do was find it. A small darkness sank to the bottom of his gut, reminding him that finding the bed wasn’t his only problem.


End file.
